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LONG 1 SLAND
FORUM
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Shinnecocic Canaf in 1887, Showing Newly Constructed Railroad Bridge (Story Page 167)
TABLE of CONTENTS
HE KNEW PECONIC MILL
A NASSAU COUNTY LANDMARK
SHINNECOCK CANAL OF 1886
SOME CENTURY OLD LETTERS
PATCHOGUE IN 1812
ANOTHER ATTIC TREASURE
GRANDPA DID SOME BEACHCOMING
Dr. Clarence Ashton Wood
Robert R. Coles
John H. Sutter
Kate Wheeler Strong
Mrs. Harry C. Hetzel
Wilbur F. Howell
Eva Gordon Slaterbeck
LETTERS FROM FORUM READERS
i^
nx
SEPTEMBER 1954
.00 a year by Mail; Single Copies 25c
VOL. XVII, No. 9
H. E. Swezey & Son, Inc.
GENERAL TRUCKING
Middle Country Rd., Eastport
Telephones
Riverhead 2350 Eaatport 250
Louden-Knickerbocker
Hall
A Private Sanitarium for
Nervous and Mental Diseases
II Louden Av«. AmityTille
AMityville 4-0053
Farmingdale
Individual Laundry
Dry Cleaning - Laundering
Rug Cleaning
Broad Hollow Road F«rinined«le
Phone FArmingdale 2-0300
Chrysler - Plymouth
Sales and Service
MULLER
Automobile Corp.
Merrick Road and Broadway
AMityville 4-2028 and 4-2029
BRAKES RELINED
on Passenger Cars and Truck*
Power Brake Sales Service
Suffolk County Brake Service
314 Medford Avenue, Patchogue
Tel. 1722
FURNITURE
S. B. HORTON CO.
(Eatabliihcd 1862)
821 Main St. Greenport
Tel. 154
SCHWARZ
FLORIST
PHONE
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SUNRISE
Division Household Fuel Corp
'Blue Coal'
Fuel Oil
Amityville Farmingdale
1060 12
Lindenhurst
178
THE
LcNS Island
feCLIM
Published Monthly at
AMITYVILLE, N. Y.
FOR LONG ISLANDERS EVERYWHERE
Entered as Bccond-clasi matter May il. 1947, at the
post office at Amityville, New York, under the Act of
March 3, 1879.
Paul Bailey, Publisher-Editor
Contributing Editors
Clarence A. Wood, LL.M., Ph.D.
Malcolm M. Willey, Ph.D.
John C. Huden, Ph.D.
Julian Denton Smith, Nature
Tel. AMityville 4-0554
Woodhull Park, L. I.
In connection with John Tooker's
fine story on General Woodhull in
the July Forum, it reminds me
that there was a station named
Woodhull Park on the LIRR in the
1890's. It was the terminal of the
"rapid traniSits" (later known as
the local electric trains) from
Flatbush avenue, Brooklyn. In
those days the rapid transits were
diminutive steam trains consisting
of cne or two small cars with a
tiny locomotive.
Woodhull Park station was on or
very near the site of the present-
day Hillside station (earlier known
as Rockaway Junction). It should
not be confused with the first
station in the area, known as Wil-
low Tree, which was three or four
blocks farther east.
Felix E. Reifschneider
Orlando, Florida
Tallmadge Sisterless
In the July Forum Mr. Clarence
Comes writes "Mary Tallmadge,
sister of Major Benjamin Tall-
madge . . . married David Osborn
of New Haven." Major Tallmadge
had no sisters: see his Memoir,
N. Y. 1904.
Several Marias appear in the
Tallmadge line: a daughter; his
second wife, nee Maria Hallett;
and a daughter-in-law, nee Maria
C. Adams.
Major Tallmadge had four
brothers, and at his death left five
sons and two daughters. One of
his sons was Benjamin Jr. who
became sailing master of the
U.S.S. Constitution.
Mr. Comes might look into their
family lines for the Mary he men-
tions.
Chester G. Osborne
Center Moriches
Miss Strong Is Brief
Miss Kate Wheeler Strong has
the rare ability to say much in a
few words. "An Old Slave's Fiddle"
in the May issue again proved it.
(Mrs.) Florence D. Lampe
Levittown
NICHOLS
RUG CLEANING
Freeport
86 E. Sunrise Highway Tel. 8-1212
Rug and Furniture Cleaning
SWEZEY FUEL CO.
Coal and Fuel Oils
Patchogue 270 Port Jefferson 55."!
Funeral Director
Arthur W. Overton
Day and Night Service
172 Main St. Tel. 1085 Islip
Loans on Bond and
Mortgage
Deposits Accepted by Mail
First National Bank of Islip
Member Fed. Deposit Insurance Corp.
Work Clothes and Paints
Building and Garden Tools
Desks, Typewriters, Etc.
Suffolk Surplus Sales
Sunrise H'way, Massapcqua (East)
MA 6-4220 C. A. Woehning
Highest Grade
MEATS
South Side Meat Market
Stephen Queirolo, Prop.
At the Triangle Amityville
AMityville 4-0212
FURNITURE
Frigidaire
Home Appliances
Englander & Simmons
Sleep Products
BROWN'S
Storage Warehouse
Your Furniture and Appliance Store
186 Maple St. Phone 31 ISLIP. L. I.
Established 1919
LEIGH'S TAXICABS
MOTOR VANS - STORING
WAREHOUSE
Auto Busses For Hire
AMityville 4-0225
Near Amityville Depot
162
SEPTEMBER 1954
LONG ISLAND FORUM
\}£e tCnew'T^econic Q!7lf[ill
r
TN 1906 there was taken
-'■ down "on salvage shares"
for its then owner Lewis H.
Case to make room for a cot-
tage development the rem-
nant of a picturesque land-
mark which had stood many
years near the mouth of Gold-
smith's Inlet in the town of
Southold where the northerly
end of Peconic Lane stops at
the shore of Long Island
Sound.
It was a welcome relief to
this writer in the late 1880's
from routine daily tasks on
the Howell, now the Donahue,
farm at the head of Tucker's
lane and the North Road
north of Southold village, to
ride with "Uncle" Eli Howell
in the "schooner" wagon to
the Peconic gristmill with
wheat, corn and oats to be
ground into flour, light and
dark canaille, and meal for
the kitchen, and bran and
feed for the bam.
About 1760 Amon Taber,
the millwright of Orient (then
called Oysterponds) , who in
1803 built the present edifice
of the Southold Presbyterian
Church, erected the first tide-
water-mill at the Inlet.
The mill however failed to
work satisfactorily. The nat-
ural channel did not supply a
sufficient stream of water to
operate the undershot wheel.
TTie mill was hence built over
into a horse-mill such as Jere-
miah Goldsmith had at his
farm home at the corner of
the Lane and the North Road.
The horse-mill fell into dis-
use after the Revolution as
the money crop was then flax.
As the farmers began again
to raise wheat and corn there
also again arose the need for
a local mill. It was too long
a drive to the tide-water-mill
at Mattituck and also to the
similar one at Tom's Creek
at Ashamomoque where for a
hundred years past the South
Road which connects Southold
and Greenport has crossed
,the creek over a bridge.
Dr. Glarence zAshton Wood
Editor's Note
This second story on. the Peconic
mill, by one who knew it as a boy
and saw it run and knew t;he in.il-
ler, brings many additional facts
to light. The author also gives
further data on the mill's back-
ground. Dr. Wood, our senior con-
tributing editor, certainly has a
fund of knowledge on all phases
of Southold Town history.
Joseph Hull Goldsmith, son
of Zachariah, a lawyer, had
in 1833 returned after a nine
years absence in New York
City with his wife to spend
the remainder of their lives
in the town of their birth.
He was an ardent Spiritualist
and member of the Southold
Universalist Church. He pro-
moted the extension of the
railroad to the East End and
later the establishment of
the Southold Savings Bank,
also of the Suffolk County
Mutual Insurance Company.
He had wanted the terminal
of the railroad at Goldsmith's
Inlet. ^
About 1839 he and Benja-
min H. Palmer and others
sponsored the building of an-
other tide-water-mill at the
Inlet. They met with many
discouragements but were
finally successful. The money
for its construction was
raised among the neighbors
who felt the need for a mill in
the vicinity.
The Shareholders and others
carted in their farm wagons
the rocks for the construction
of walls to narrow, restrict
and control the water in the
channel of the waterway.
It may be well to preserve
here a copy of a document
dated a century ago addressed
to property owners along the
lane leading to the mill by
the roadmaster of the time.
It read : "Cutchogue, Dec. 4th,
1852. Sir. There has been sev-
eral complaints in relation to
the Trees and bushes Stand-
ing in the road usually called
the Mill road running from
the Main road to the Inlet
Mill.
"You will please clear that
road without Delay of the
Trees and Bushes so that
Waggons can pass each other
without any inconvenience.
Yours, S. E. Horton."
"Uncle" John Conklin Ap-
pleby, grandfather of John
Ellsworth Appleby, a "prince
SWEZEY GRISTMILL, SWAN CREEK, PATCH06UE
Sketched and etched by Jos. P. DiGemma
16.^
LONG ISLAND FORUM
among millers" who had
ground grits at the tide-
water-mill at the mouth o±
Tom's or Mill Creek at Asha-
momoque to the satisfaction
of everybody, was induced to
conduct the Peconic Mill threa
days each week and devote
the other three weekdays to
the Ashamomoque mill.
In those days there was not
enough business to keep the
miller busy all the while at
either mill. The mill at Tom s
Creek, it is said, may have
ground a "leetle better be-
cause of its "steady gait.
In these tide-water-mills
the rising tide swept into the
rock-walled channel through
the open gates. As the tide-
water retreated the gates
would close, storing the water
in the creek for use when it
flowed out, turning the big
water wheel.
When Appleby retired from
the mill his place was taken
by Richard Cox who had come
east from Oyster Bay in 1821
to erect and conduct the tide-
water wheel at Mattituck
Creek a few miles to the west
of the Peconic mill.
Cox in turn gave way to
Gabriel Bennett, a miller
from East Hampton who had
run the Red Mill on Pme
Neck, Southold, until it was
removed about 1840 to Shel-
ter Island. Later one Smith,
an Englishman, bought out
the other shareholders of the
PecoT^ic Mill. After operating
it a few years he sold out to
Cox and his son John Cox.
Their mill at Mattituck took
so much of their time in 1872
that the Coxes sold their hold-
ings there to Capt. Joshua U.
Terry who, after retiring
from his seafaring life m
1847, conducted the Mattituck
mill for over twenty years.
The next miller at the
Peconic mill after Cox and
his son was Edward H. Terry
who conducted it until the
growing infirmities of age
compelled his retirement. He
was succeeded by his brother
Gilbert Terry who as the last
miller there ran the Peconic
mill for thirty-four years. He
Continued on pagf. 172
SEPTEMBER 1954
Bank and Borrow ^
AT
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK
AND TRUST COMPANY
^^ BAY SHORE
OPEN FRIDAY EVENINGS 6:30 TO 8
128 West Main Street
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Bay Shore, N. Y.
Member Federal Reserve System
Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp n
Bethpage, Long Island, N. Y.
Designfers and Manufacturers of the
Panther Albatross Mallard
Airplanes for the U. S. Navy, the Air Force
and Commercial Users
B U I C K
SALES SERVICE PARTS
Suffolk County's Largest Selection of
GUARANTEED USED CARS
Ande-McEwan Motors, Inc.
Tel B*y Shore 2 228 East Main St., Bay Shore
WE BUY USED CARS FOR CASH
WILLIAM A. NICHOLSON
vice President
JOHN E. NICHOLSON
President
Nicholson & Galloway
Established 1849
Roofing and Waterproofing
Difficult commissions accepted to correct wall and roof
leaks in schools, churches, banks, public buildings, etc.
426 East 110th Street
New York City
LEhigh 4-2076
Cedar Swamp Road
Brookville, L. I.
BRookville 5-0020
164
SEPTEMBER 1954
LONG ISLAND FORUM
c54. J^ssau Qounty Ljandmar\
\ MONG the few remaining
-'*■ landmarks from the ear-
liest days of Mosquito Cove is
the homestead built in 1668
by Robert Coles, one of the
original settlers of the region
and a direct ancestor of the
writer. This stands today on
the north side of the street
called "The Place" and to the
west of the large brick build-
ing occupied by the Griscom
Publications, within the City
of Glen Cove. A high board
fence and heavy foliage par-
tially hide it from view of
passers-by.
While the old dwelling has
undergone much renovation
and extensive additions dur-
ing the past two hundred
eighty-six years, anyone fam-
iliar with the architecture of
this locality during the latter
part of the seventeenth cen-
tury can easily recognize the
small wing to the right that
was the original house. To-
day this is overshadowed by
two large additions of later
construction and different
style. By mentally erasing
these, however, and concen-
trating on the small east wing,
one can get a fair idea of how
the original homestead ap-
peared.
Many years a<^o there was
an old well in the front yard
and, until 1945, a large wea-
ther-beaten black locust grew
about fifteen feet to the
southwest of the oriq-inal
dwelling. This was said to
have been one of a number of
young locusts that were
brought from Virginia during
the late seventeenth or early
eighteenth century by Cap-
tain John IS and s of Cow Neck,
(now Sands Point). Others
were planted elsewhere on
the north shore of Long
Tslard at the same time and
these are claimed to have
been the first of this s'necies
of locust on the islar^d. Today
they are very plentiful on the
north shore and elsewhere.
The construction of this
Robert R. Coles
house was apparently much
like that of the one built by
Joseph Carpenter at about the
same time. Carpenter was
the leader of the small group
that settled Mosquito Cove
and built his home on the west
side of the road now called
Dickson Lane. Comparison
of the east wing of the pre-
sent structure with a sketch
made of the old Carpenter
home, in 1835, shows a strik-
ing resemblance. In both, the
front door is centrally posi-
tioned and divided so that the
upper and lower halves may
be opened independently. Mod-
erately large windows made
up of several panes of glass
are placed on either side of
the door. In the old Coles
homestead there are small
wi- dows directly over these
with the sill nearly at the
second floor level and the top
beneath the edge of the slop-
ing roof. The sketch of the
Carpenter home does not
show these upstairs windows.
A large chimney is built into
the east side of the Coles
dwelling, which accommodates
a fireplace that was used for
cooking and heating purposes
during the colder months.
Unfortunately the old Car-
penter homestead was de-
stroyed, probably over a cen-
tury ago, and all that remains
is a depression in the ground
where it stood. This is now
overgrown with briars and
several large locust trees.
Over thirty years ago the
writer retrieved two or three
old bricks from the excava-
tion that may have been part
of the foundation or chimney
before the building was de-
molished.
Robert Coles died on April
16, 1715, and was buried on a
knoll almost directly across
The Place from his home. His
grave and about half a dozen
others nearby were marked
with crude field stones and in
time the old cemetery be-
came overgrown with weeds
and briars. More than ten
years ago I took a very good
picture of his stone. It was
of granite, and on it was
Gravestone of Ancestor, Preserved by Aulhor
165
LONG ISLAND FORUM
crudely carved the following
inscription: "R C D S A P 16
1715 ". Also buried in the
same cemetery was Robert
Coles' wife, Mercy (Wright)
Coles, who died on October
21, 1708.
This spring the property
where the cemetery stood was
leveled by bulldozers to make
way for a parking field for
the Columbia Ribbon and
Carbon Company which came
into possession of it some
years ago. I removed Robert
Coles' stone to my home and
shall someday set it in the
ground, in the hope that it
may stay unmolested for an-
other two hundred thirty-
nine years.
Since the death of Robert
and Mercy Coles the old home-
stead has been occupied by
many families. For some
generations it was the home
of his children and gra^^d-
children. During the latter
part of the nineteenth cen-
tury and early in the twenti-
eth it was the home of Mr.
George W. Cocks, one of G^en
Cove's most respected geneal-
ogists and historians. He did
a great deal of work in help-
ing to get out the first volume
of the Oyster Bay Town Rec-
ords and prepared an histori-
cal sketch on the Town that is
included in that volume. Also,
in collaboration with John
Cox, Jr., he compiled the
"Cock, Cocks, Cox Genealogy"
which is filled with interest-
ing historical data concerning
Glen Cove, Oyster Bay and the
surrounding region.
Much that we know today
concerning the early history
of Mosquito Cove has come
from the pages of a quaint,
old parchment bound volume
known as the Mosquito Cove
Proprietors' Book." This
measures 141/2 x 914 inches
and is now in the possession
of the writer. While never
actually part of the Oyster
Bay Town Records, most of
the information froni this
volume is now included in Vol.
I of that publication. It was
be'Tun by Robert Coles, in
1668, and contains many in-
teresting entries, including
land records, family records
SEPTEMBER 1954
of the Coles, Carpenter and
Thornycraft families, two
wills written by Robert Coles,
one before and the other after
the death of his wife, mis-
cellaneous merchants' ac-
counts and much other valu-
able data. It survives today
as one of the few relics of the
first days of Mosquito Cove.
Robert Coles was one of
five men known as the "Pro-
prietors of the Mosquito Cove
Plantation". As previously
mentioned, Joseph Carpenter,
originailv from Warwick,
Rhode Island, was the leader
of this little band of pioneers.
The others were Daniel and
Nathaniel Coles, older bro-
thers of Robert, and Nicholas
Simokins.
Simpkins had lived at Oy-
ster Bay, having apparently
been on hand at the time of
its settlement, in 1653. Also
it seems that Nathaniel Coles
lived there and never occupied
his holdings at Mosquito
Cove. , ^,
The three Coles brothers
were sons of the first Robert
Coles in America, who came
from England on the Winth-
ron Fleet, in 1630.
Some years previous to 1668
Joseph Carpenter had ex-
plored the resrion in the vicin-
ity of Mosquito Cove in search
for a favorable site on which
to erect saw and grist mills.
In the stream that ran
through the vallev at Mos-
nnito Cove, emptying into
Hemnstead Harbor, he found
exactly what he desired and
soon beran negotiations with
the Matinecock Indians for
its purchase.
After obtaining permission
from Governor Nichols, he
purchased the land from the
Indians on May 24, 1668. Six
months later, November 24,
he received as equal share-
holders Abia Carpenter, (his
brother - in - law), Thomas
Townsend, Nathaniel Coles
and Robert Coles. Shortly
afterward, however, Thomas
Townsend transferred his in-
terests to Nicholas Simpkins
and Abia Carpenter trans-
ferred his to Daniel Coles.
According to mutual agree-
Continued on page 175
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166
SEPTEMBER 1954
LONG ISLAND FORUM
f
jhinnecock Qanal of 1886
#
#
XTERE is some first-hand
-'-*• information about the
Shinnecock Canal at Canoe
Place, as most of it was told
to me by the late Colonel
(honorary) Ellsworth How-
land, who worked on the canal
when it was first made navig-
able by the State of New
York in 1886.
The Colonel was given the
honor of throwing the first
shovel of sand into Captain
Bill Phillips' wagon whose
first load was dumped just
north of where the Cruiser
Club now has its headquar-
ters.
Ever since the coming of
the white men to Southamp-
ton town in 1640 there had
been a narrow natural drain
here flanked by a path where
the Indians dragged or port-
aged their dugouts between
Peconic and Shinnecock Bays.
That is how Canoe Place got
its name. Only during very
high tides was there any flow
of water through the drain.
When the (State tackled the
project of widening and
deepening the old drain in
1886, it installed tidal gates
just north of the Montauk
highway. An engineer named
Rumbleeamp came down from
Albany to superintendent the
work and when he learned
that Colonel Rowland was a
former railroader he got him
to lay tracks to the dump and
a small locomotive and gon-
dola car were procured from
the LIRR to move the sand.
It took six years to complete
the job.
An Albany man named Par-
rott was in charge of the
dredge which was broue-ht to
Peconic bay bv a tuar. When
warned that the craft lay in
an exposed position in case an
easterly storm should blow
up, he remarked that "a little
Dond like the Peconic wouldn't
hurt the outfit" which had
encountered many a stiff gale
on the Hudson. But shortlv
thereafter a real old-fashioned
Jo/in H. Sutter
easter set in. The tug was
driven ashore and smashed to
pieces and the dredge was
sunk, but was later raised,
pumped out and used.
The LIRR had a track gang
housed in a caboose. These
men were paid $1.25 a day
and had to pay 18 cents a day
for board. Their principal
meal was a loaf of Italian
bread hollowed out and
stuffed with garlic and other
vesgetables. They worked
under the padro3ie system, the
padrone having brought them
over from Italy and hired
them out in a body to the
contractor. The padrone was
paid for their services and
gave the laborers what was
left after deducting living
costs and other expenses. The
system has long since been
banned in this country.
Colo"^el Rowland was ap-
pointed watchman during
building operations, receiving
1.35 a day. He was also re-
tained after the railroad
bridge was built across the
canal and was instructed to
see that freight trains must
proceed over the span no fas-
ter than five miles an hour.
Canoe Place Inn at that time
was operated by one Charlie
Conklin who had come from
Jamesport. It was during the
building of the canal with its
tidal gates, a vehicular bridge
on Montauk highway and the
railroad trestle further to the
north that the gigantic bust
of Hercules, which had been
the figurehead of the U. S.
frigate Ohio, was purchased
by the inn-keeper and
mounted across from the old
hostelry on the highway
which was then known as the
Country Road.
Among those who worked
on the canal project besides
the gang of Italians were
Shinnecock Indians who in
1703 had had their tribal
reservation removed from
just west of the canal site to
the east. A number, how-
ever, still lived in Canoe Place
and in Hampton Bays, among
them descendants of the
Indian missionary Paul Cuf-
fee whose fenced-in grave
may still be seen between the
junction of the highway and
the railroad, west of the
canal.
Just how Ellsworth How-
land acquired the title of
Colonel I learned from him.
It seems that it was bestowed
upon him by one Joshua
Conklin who had difficulty in
Continued on page 177
Shinnecock Canal in 1900. Phcto by Hal B. Fullerton
167
LONG ISLAND FORUM
SEPTEMBER 1954
Reminders
Pleasure Boat Insurance Specialist
GEORGE C. BAKTH
134 A Broadway, next to Post Office
AMltyville 4-1688 (Res. 4-0855)
E. CLAYTON SMITH
Established 1913
Jobber-Replacement Parts
Tacls - Equipment
218-220 East Main St.
Babylon Tel. 6-0551
Visitors Welcome
The General Museum-Library of
the Suffolk County Historical So-
ciety, at Riverhead, is open daily
(except Sundays and Holidays)
from one to five P. M.
Visitors always welcome (no
charge) at this educational insti-
tution where items connected with
Long Island's history, culture and
natural sciences are on display.
Wines and Liquors
Large assortment of Popular
Brands at the Lowest Possible
Prices and in various size con-
tainers to suit your needs. Losi's
Liquor Store, 170 Park Ave., Amity-
viile.
CtJans
AMITYVILLE DAIRY, INC.
AMITYVILLE
ROCKVILLE CENTRE
BLUE POINT
STILL B. CALSO
GASOLINE — FUEL OIL
DISTRIBUTOR
Tel. SElden 2-3512
Birds in a Hurricane
"The Hurricane of 1938, — in
Retrospect" by William T. Hel-
muth 3rd, describes the havoc
played by that holocaust on the
bird life of the east end. It is
issued as the 8th pamphlet in the
series entitled Birds of Long
iF-land initiated in 1939 by The
Bird Club of Long Island Inc.
Fcr our copy we are indebted to
Dr. John T. Nichols, who is editor,
i nd is associated with the Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History.
Dr. Helmuth who resided in East
Hampton took first hand notes on
the effects of the hurricane on the
wild birds in that vicinity and
included in this interesting account
a li=;t of the 54 species of birds
which were fcund dead from the
storm.
Dr. Helmuth died while publica-
tion of the pamphlet was pending
and Dr. Nichols was obliged to
rr.ake the final revision and carry
the work to completion. It is a
valuable contribution to the
irlanu's ornithological data.
Cash and Carry
Service 159* Off
UNQUA LAUNDRIES
AMityville 4-1348
Dixon Avenue Copiagrue
Malverne's Village Flag
The municipality of Malverne
in Nassau County is the first in
the State to adopt a village flag.
We are indebted to Malverne His-
torian George R. Van Allen for
one of the handsome silk emblems
in blup, white and orange, colors
Eymbolic of the Dutch West India
Company which founded New
Netherland of which Long Island
wa« a part. ,
It carries the Malverne coat-of-
arms, a shield topped by a spray
of oakleaves and acorns with the
inscription "Oaks from Acorns".
Also included are a chipmumk, a
dinky, an open clamshell, a Bible
and quill pen, a baseball, liberty
bfll, an artist's palette with
brushes, and two masks — all
typifying the past, present and
future of the village.
tion, Cooperstown, lists from the
Long Island Forum "Jchn Leayard
the Traveler" by Dr. Clarence
Ashton Wood and "Big Manuel,
Whaling Captain" by Andrus T.
Valentine.
From the Journal of the Nas-
sau County Historical Society Mr.
Dunn lists: 'Tae Story of Oyster
Bay" by Paul Bailey, "Thomas
Dongan and the Charter of Liber-
ties" by Jesse Merritt, anJ "The
Gardens of My Great-Grandmoth-
ers" by Julian Denton Smith.
Head Librarian Wanted
For Amityville Free Library.
Good working conditions. Full time
assistant. One month vacation.
New York State retirement. Over
18,000 books. Over 40,000 circula-
tion. Write or phone for appoint-
ment. Paul Bailey, President, Box
805 Amityville. Tel. AM 4-0554.
L. I. Articles Cited
In his list of "Outstanding Arti-
cles" published on historical sub-
jects during the first quarter of
1954, James Taylor Dunn, Librar-
ian of the State Historical Associa-
Schrafel Motors, Inc.
NASH Sales and Service
NEW and USED C.\RS
Merrick Road, West Amityville
Leo F. Schrafel AM 4-2i»*
FAMILY HISTORY
Start yours now with our Simpli-
fied Worksheets and Directions . . .
Complete Set, punched for three-
ring binder, postpaid $1. . . .
GIDEON STIVERS
Box 382 Riverhead, L. 1.
The Bowne House
Historical Society
Judge Charles S Golden, President
presents
The Bowne House
Built 1661
Bowne St. and Fox Lane
FLUSHING, N. Y.
A Shrine to Religion Freedom
ADMISSION FREE
Sundays, Tuesdays and Saturdays 1 to 6 P.M.
Sponsored by
HALLERAN AGENCY
Realtor* Flushing, N. Y.
Farmingdale Federal Savings
and Loan Association
312 CONKLIN STREET
First Mortgage Loans Insured Savings
21% Dividend
Phone FArmingdale 2-2000
FARMINGDALE, N. Y.
168
SEPTEMBER 1954
LONG ISLAND FORUM
^
jome Qentury &ld L^etters
f
m
TLDST a bundle of letters,
•^ yellow and brittle with
age, but they carry us back
into the past and show us the
thoughts and doings of some
of the people over 100 years
ago. Such a bundle of letters
has just been given me by
my cousin Mr. Arthur T.
Strong. Letters he had inher-
ited from his father, my
Uncle Charles. Now to the
letters.
From Hempstead June 21st
1838, came a letter to my
grandfather. Judge Selah B.
Strong, from Dr. Benjamin
F. Thompson. The first part
was a general printed letter,
telling that as Silas Wood's
History was out of print, he
had been urged to write a
longer and fuller history.
He gave a list of some of the
items he wished to include,
early settlements, churches,
schools, agriculture, industry,
etc. and "the number of pau-
pers and. the mode and ex-
pense of their maintenance."
Followed a personal note to
my grandfather asking for in-
formation about the Strongs,
the Brewsters, and the real
facts about the Nicoll Patent.
A letter to Grandfather
from Richard Smith of Smith-
town, October 31st 1819, fol-
lows:
Dear Sir: Previously to the
receipt of your favor of the
24th Inst, notice of the con-
templated exhibition of the
Suffolk Co. Agricultural Soci-
ety had been sent to the Long
Island Star, and Sag Harbor
Eagle. Mr. Smith is worried
about two things : the idea had
been put forth so recently
that there was little time to
prepare and secondly it had
been the worst season (prob-
ably since 1816.)
He adds that yet without a
beginning, the object, laud-
able as it is, can never pro-
gress. "Therefore under these
disadvantages we will do
enough to make it appear well
on paper afterwards." He
K^fe Wheeler (§trong
feels that this may draw to
the farmers' attention the
benefits of belonging to the
Society. (I confess that "on
paper" tickled me, they would
see to it they got a decent
writeup anyway!)
The next letter I drew from
the bundle is from the earlier
historian Silas Wood. He
wrote from Washington on
January 18th, 1827. It seems
that the lighthouse keeper at
Historian and Congressman Silas Wood
Old Point had died. A Mr.
Smith and a Mr. Jayne both
wanted the job, and he had
many letters from people,
some urging one and some the
other. All these he had turned
over to the proper authority
from whom he had learned
that the keeper's Widow had
also made application and had
been promised the job until
March. I wonder if the Jaynes
got it. I know they had it
years later when they used to
let me climb the tower.
He mentions the two im-
portant issues before Con-
gress: a treaty with the Brit-
ish, framing of which, he
states, is puzzling the "wise
men." The other is the Bank-
rupt Bill which he thinks will
go down to defeat as Virginia
is against it.
In another letter, dated
February 19th, 1827, Mr.
Wood tells my grandfather of
his plan to write a history of
the early Towns on Long
Island. At the time he was
working on the early history
of the Brewster Family, and
had written to a Capt. Henry
Brewster of Blooming Grove
also to Brewsters in Dan-
bury, Conn., and to a Brew-
ster in New Hampshire.
Grandfather's uncle Joseph
Strong had taken Mr. Wood
to the family graveyard here
on the Neck and he had copied
some of the inscriptions. He
asked grandfather to give as
many facts as possible.
There are many more let-
ters in that old bundle, but I
think I have puzzled long
enough over the faded writ-
ing for this time.
Monument Rescuers
The men who saved the Culluloo
monument from destruction and
had it restored and relocated were
the late William S. Pettit and
Smith N. Durlamd, who were as-
sisted by others.
R.P.S.
Mr. Robert Jonas was right in
thinking I'd find something to
inferest me in the Long Island
Forum. Lawrence Conant, Garden
City. (Note: Mr. Jonas and Mr.
Conant are charter members of the
Nassau Archeological Society Inc.
Editor.)
Seven in One
At our Neighborhood Circle I
showed my L. I. Forums and en-
close seven subscriptions from
members who saw it for the first
time. Why don't you circularize it
more?
(Mrs.) Marilyn Metz
East Meadow
Having enjoyed the Forum as a
gift from the Union Savings Bank
(anniversary souvenir) for the
past year, I would like to continue
as a subscriber. Helen C. Wood-
hull, Patchogue.
16^
LONG ISLAND FORUM
SEPTEMBER 1954
Leading Real Estate Brokers of
Sayville
LiDian H. Robinson, Realtor
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Munsey Park
See Wile for
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Manhasset and vicinity
DAVID T. WILE JR. & CO.
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Mineola
J. ALFRED VALENTINE
Real Estate - Insurance
148 Mineola Boulevard
Phone Garden City 7-7200
Hicksville
SEAMAN & EISEMANN, Inc.
Real Estate - Insurance
fO Broadway Tel. Hicksville 600
Rirerhead
DUGAN REALTY COMPANY
Eastern Long Island Country
Places along Ocean, Sound,
Peconic, Shinnecock Bays.
North port
EDWARD BIALLA
ALBERT M. ZILLIAN
EDWIN N. ROWLEY, INC.
Real Estate — Insurance
Appraisals
74 Main Street
NOrthport 3-0108 and 2272
Members L. I. Real Estate Board
Latest Dividend Declared
at the rate of
2V2 %
per annum
Savings Accounts opened
and Banking- by-Mail
The Union Savings Bank
of Patchogue, New York
The only Savings Bank in
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Member Federal Deposit
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Ketcham & Colyer, Inc.
INSURANCE
Georse S. Colyer, Secy.
Broadway and Faric Ava.
AMityville 4-0198
Grandpa Did Some Beachcombing
I was much interested in the
article by Clarence Russell Comes
entitled Peconic's Old Mill in the
June issue. It takes me back to the
time when Uncle William Austin
Haynes drove his bags of wheat to
the mill when Gilbert Terry was
the miller. I sat on the wheat for
a ride to the mill and rode back
with the newly ground flour,
golden hue, sweet to the taste.
There was also Cornell flour for
(Our pancakes served with ooir
own home-cured ham.
Gilbert Terry was the only resi-
dent at the Injet then. He had a
cute grey house with a big peach
orchard behind it and kept a beau-
tiful light brown horse, fat as
meal from the mill could make her,
for his daughter to drive. Later
Artist Fitz built a cottage on the
Inlet. Next the Dr. Wilsons built
a summer place on the Sound
bluff.
Where the Inlet flows into the
Sound folks said there was quick-
sand, but I never heard of a
drowning there. It was great to sit
on the bridge and watch the mill-
wheel revolve while meditating on
your sins or, perhaps, your good
qualities. The one thing that
marred the summer day was the
buzz of the mosquito, for there
was no DDT then.
My grandfather Halsey Haynes'
farm of 110 acres, partly wooded,
ran to the Sound, and by the unr
written law of which Dr. Wood
Continued next page
Farmingdale
GREGORY SOSA AGENCY. Inc.
Real Estate and Insurance
Serving The Community Since 1921
FArmingdale 2-0321—2-1286
Mubbell, Klapper &. Hubbell
LONG ISLAND REAL ESTATE
65 Hilton Avenue
Garden City, N. Y.
REAL ESTATE
Insurance Mortgages
JOHN T. PULIS
101 Rictimond Ave , Amityville
AMityville 4-1489
EASTPORT
Edward B. Bristow
Real Estate and Insurance
Main Street EAstport 5-0164
Port Washington
Howard C. Hegeman Agency, Inc.
Real Estate and Insurance
185 Main Street
Tel. POrt Washington 7-3124
Commack
JOHN W. NOTT
Established 1925
Wanted: Large flat wooded acre-
age eastern L. I, to Riverhead.
Jericho Tpk. FOrest 8-9322
Huntington
HENR\ A. MURPHY
INSURING AGENCY, Inc.
Real Estate, Insurance, Mortgag*
Loans, Appraisals
Steamship Tickets
Cornelius L. Murphy Tel. Hunt. 176
Wyandanch
HAROLD S. ISHAM
All Lines of Insurance
Real Estate
Straight Path, Wvandanch
Tel. Midland 7755
Mastic
Realtor — Insurer
BENJAMIN G. HERRLEY
MONTAUK HIGHWAY
Phone ATlantic— 1-8110
Glen Head
M. O. HOWELL
Real Estate - Insurance
25 Glen Head Road
Telephone GLen Cove 4-0491
Bay Shore
Auto and Other Insurance
— Real Estate —
HENNING AGENCY, Realtor
86 E.Main BayShore 7-0876 & 0877
Central Islip
ROBERT E. O'DONOHUE
Carleton Ave. Tel. 6317 Central lalip
Real Estate - Insurance
Established 1911
Hampton Bays
JOHN H. SUTTER
Licensed Real Estate Broker
1 East Main Street
HAMPTON BAYS 2-0420
Tel. BAbylon 6-0265
w.
E. MAGEE,
APPRAISER
Inc.
Real Estate and Insurance ||
Brokers
Babylon. N. Y.
<r
170
SEPTEMBER 1954
LONG ISLAND FORUM
^
<m
%
Long Island's Suburban Homeland
Uniondale
PETER P. ROCCHIO
The Town Agency For
Real Estate and Insurance
889 Nassau Road, Uniondale
Phone HEmpstead 2-6858
Patchogue
Realtors — Insurers
JOHN J. ROE & SON
125 E. Main St. Patchogue 2300
Glen Cove
HAROLD A. JACKSON CO.
Insurance and Real Estate
7 W. Glen Street Telephone 4-1500
Westbury
HAMILTON R. HILL
Insurance - Real Estate
WEstbury 7-0108 249 Post Ave.
For Westbury and Vicinity
Floral Park
EDMUND D. PURCELL
REALTOR
Sales - Appraisals - Insurance
ill Tyson Ave. FLoral Park 4-0333
Lake Ronkonkoma
CLIFFORD R. YERK
Lots, Farms, Shore Frontage
Homes Acreage
Rosedale Ave. and Richmond Blvd.
Telephones Ronkonkoma 8543 and 8859
East Norwich
RICHARD DOWNING & SONS
Real Estate & Insurance Brokers
North Hempstead Turnpike
Tel. OYster Bay 6-0692
"BehiTWe/t
Real Estate 'Insurance
East Tetauket
Lond Island. N«w York
■ TeMOISoUuket |
Unqua Agency, Inc.
General Insurance
Real Estate
GORDON W. FRASER. Mer.
199-A Broadway AMityville 4>0376
once wrote in the Forum, every-
thing that came ashore fronting
his farm belonged to Grandpa. And
good Presbyterian though he was,
Sunday or weekday he paced the
beach for trophies. Thus on
December 26, 1866, he saw the
wreck of the steamer Commodore
with 100 passengers and a variety
of merchandise. A beautiful purple
and gold carpet came ashore which
later adorned the new home which
Grandpa Halsey was building
across the street.
The heavy front-door of this new
domicile also came from the Com-
modore's remains, and also a very
beautiful mahogany stair-railing.
The door had a massive lock and
key and we used to hide the key
under the door-mat when we went
to a neighbor's to play dominoes.
The lock reminded me of the one
Jack of the Beanstalk hid in.
Of a number of articles in the
Haynes farmhouse it could be said:
No one knows whence it came
Bat I am sure 'twas of Commodore
fame. ,
Eva Gordon Slaterbeck
1487 East 14th Street
Brooklyn
Miller Place
ALFRED E. BEYER
Licensed Real Estate Broker
Member, Suffolk Real Estate Board
North Country Road Miller Place
Tel. POrt Jefferson 8-1204
Massapequa
TOM ABBOTT
Massapequa
Cor. Merrick Rd. and Ocean Ave.
Massapequa, N. Y.
BELLPORT
Edward B. Bristow
Real Estate and Insurance
Main Street BEUport 7-0143
Robert A.
Dodd
General Insurance
Real Estate
RAYMOND A.
SWEENEY
66 Merrick Rd., Copiasue
AMityville 4-1961
Real Estate Insurance
EDWARD F. COOK
East Hampton
Telephone 4-1440
East Quogue
GEO. H. JONES
Real Estate and Insurance
Montauk Highway
Telephone East Quogue 960
Wantagh
W. J. JORGENSEN
Realtor — Appraisals
Tel. Wantagh 2210
Babylon
W,
CHARLES F. PFEIFLE
Licensed Real Estate Broker
Lots - Plots - Acreai:e
Main St., nr. Lake Babylon 644
Wading River
WM. L. MILLER & SON
Real Estate and Insurance
Phone: Wading River 4323
Great Neck
Of Mocr^
LONG ISLAND
REAL ESTATE
City line to Montauk Point. List-
ings wanted all over Long Island.
Sales offices at 740 Northern Blvd.,
Great Neck, and Route 25 Matti-
tuck. Tels. GReat Neck 2-5614 and
Mattituck 9-8434.
Garden City
^^ Brooklyn and Lang Island's Largest
Real Estate Organization"
721 Franklin Ave. Tel. Garden City 7-6400
Save at Southold
BANK BY MAIL
Latest Dividend
2'/2^
Plus '/2% extra per annum
The Oldest Savings Bank in Suf-
folk County. Incorporated 1858.
Southold Savings Bank
Southold, New York
Member Federal Deposit Insurance
Ck>rporation
171
LONG ISLAND FORUM
Peconic Mill
Continued from page 164-
gave up milling in 1902, and
thereafter lived at Orient
with his niece Mrs. Wilson L.
Petty.
Gilbert Terry married Al-
meda V. Robinson. They had
a daughter Ella who as Mrs.
George Billard lived or lives
at Cutchogue. Joshua U.
Terry who ran the Mattituck
mill for over twenty years,
dying about 1900, was a
brother of Gilbert Terry.
During his ownership of the
Peconic mill, Gilbert Terry
enlarged and improved it in
the early 1870's by adding an
extension on the north side
and putting a windmill wheel
atop a tower. The windmill
much increased the efficiency
of the plant as the tide- wheel
would only operate during
part of the rise and part of
the fall of the tide, or some
ten hours a day at most.
With the second set of
stones installed, Terry ground
over 200 bushels per day on
numerous occasions. H i s
largest grind was 300 bushels,
when he worked a greater
part of twenty-four hours.
Ernest M. Robinson, cura-
tor of the Suffolk County His-
torical Society at Riverhead
and a nephew of Mrs. Gilbert
Terry, recalls that while vis-
iting the Terrys during the
1880's the miller told him
"We are grinding a bushel a
minute, using both tide and
windmill." It is my notion
that Robinson and I first met
in the noisy mill in that long
ago.
The first windmill head had
the conventional four arms
equipped with canvas sails
which had to be renewed sev-
eral times a year. The head
was changed from the sail
type to a new folding vane
type after the Civil War. The
latter type was built in sec-
SEPTEMBER 1954
tions and the outer part of the
wheel could be folded to stand
at right angles to the vane
and thus acted as a brake
against the remaining part of
the wheel. This kind of wheel
could weather an average
gale.
The Inlet windmill was
destroyed during a great
storm on November 26 and
27, 1898. The wheel of the
mill was blown to pieces and
the wreckage left hanging.
Ore by one the few remaining
sticks dropped before the
wind until the standard stood
alone. On that occasion in
1898 a three-masted barge
was blown upon the Sound
shore just west of the mill.
By this time farmers had
found it more profitable to
grow potatoes and cauliflower
than grain. Consequently the
amount of work brought to
the mill rapidly decreased un-
til finally the water-wheel
Continued on next pagre
MORTGAGE MONEY
HOME OWNERS
Mortgage Loans to refinance existing mortgages
or to purchase and /or renovate homes
INDIVIDUAL MORTGAGE HOLDERS
Existing mortgages purchased or refinanced
RIVERHEAD SAVINGS BANK
RIVERHEAD. N. Y.
RIVERHEAD 8-3600
172
SEPTEMBER 1954
LONG ISLAND FORUM
m
m
Patchogue in 1812
From a Sanford, Florida, sub-
scriber, Mrs. iiarry C. Hetzel (for-
merly Miss Geraiaine Ne-wind of
Pattaogue) comes a time-worn
maii.ui,cript written by one Andrew
Jaciuun famitn, entitled "Patchogue
In 1812." The writer's name sug-
gests mat he was born not much
later than 1828 when Anarew J ack-
son was eiectea Presiaent and pos-
sibly as early as a aecaue before
as Jackson became a national hero
M 1614 for His victory over the
British at New Orleans.
Perhaps some Patchogue reader
may know of Andrew Jackson
timith and when he lived. From his
manuseiipt we learn that in 1812
there were but 75 inhabitants in
Patchogue and only two roads or
paths as they were called: Main
street and Oceam avenue (the
Lane). There were but five houses
on the Lane, all on the east side,
namely : Moses Wicks, Robert Mills,
Jacob Baker, William Baker and,
ne..r the site of Carman avenue,
Daniel Smith, grandfather of the
writer.
About a quarter-mile from the
bay a pair of bars crossed the Lane,
and at Main street there was a
gate. Between this gate and the
bars, cattle roamed at large.
On the south side of Ma^n street
(now Montauk highway), between
(Dcean avenue and Swan Creek, was
only one house, that of Squire
Beale. On the north side, there was
a small mill-house near the creeK.
To the west near Medford avemue
stocd the home of John Charlick,
father of Oliver ivho became presi-
dent of the LIRR. To the west lived
Jesse Howell and west of that was
the home of Phineas Rose, grand-
father of Charles E. Rose.
Between the site of North Ocean
avenue (then overgrown with
pines) and "Patchogue pond" to
the west were the Lamed and Ack-
erly homes. Oin the south side of
Main street, west of Ocean avenue,
lived Smith Hammond, village cob-
bler, near the creek, and Smith
Conklin. "It was here," writes the
narrator, "that the soldiers of 1812
stepped overnight while on their
tramp from Brooklyn to Sag Har-
bor, where they had been ordered
to prevent the British from land-
ing." Michael Smith, Peter Smith,
Jonathan Baker and several others
were drafted to accompany the sol-
diers to Sag Harbor.
The writer goes on to .~ay that
the only other house thereabouts
wai that of Mr. Mulford, Patch-
f- "lip's la'-nfest landowner, on the
site of Lo'see's hotel. "Situated
f.wgy from the settlement was the
homestead of Joshua Smith, on
whi't is now Bay avenue, about
where Hiram Newins now lives."
Wrote Andrew Jackson Smith:
"In 1808 the ocean broke through
the beach at Smith's Point, iniuring
the oysters so that, they all died.
In 1814 the beacli again closed.
During 1816 the bay yielded an
extra abundance of hard clams.
* * * They sold for six cents per
100." He added that oysters sold
for 20' cents a bushel and that Capt.
Samuel Tooker planted the first
Virginia oysters m South Bay, at
Howell's Point.
In 1812, wrote Mr. Smith, mail
was carried on horseback once a
week between Patchogue and New
York, the ride being made in eight
hours. He also told of three British
soldiers deserting from a landing
party at Sag Harbor, going to
Patchogue and "lived the remainder
of their days here. One of the fugi-
tives, Deyuril by name, or Devil as
he was nicknamed, was finally the
village pedagogue. The writer was
one of his pupils."
Peconic Mill
Continued from page 172
vras stopped, to turn no more.
The ^ates were no longer used
to hold the tide, the inlet be-
p-SLTx to fill with seaweed and
the channel with mussel
shoals. The nejrlected build-
ing gradually fell a prey to
storms and decay.
On the wall of my library
I have a framed picture of the
Goldsmith Inlet mill taken in
its heyday beside a framed
picture of the four yoke of
oxen and cart taken in the
Sage brickyard at Ashamo-
moque as they in July 1890
were about to join the parade
in the celebration of South-
old's 250th anniversary of its
settlement. The oxen were
driven by Peter Gaffaga with
Mrs. Williamson Albertson
and children in the cart. The
following September I became
the teacher at Quogue's little
old district school.
I append a poem about the
old mill which was written by
the Rev. Daniel H. Overton, a
native of Southold who mar-
ried Carrie C. Terry, daugh-
ter of Jonathan Barnes Terry,
one time president of the
Southold Savings Bank, and
Martha Jane (Corey) Terry,
granddaughter of Major Gil-
bert Horton of local Revolu-
tionary renown.
On Swan River in eastern
View of Patchogue in Brox^knaven, Long Island.
From a Very Old Sketch
rl'MbW
JJiiO^IjSvJ/kZ^^
173
LONG ISLAND FORUM
SEPTEMBER 1954
Patchogue there was also an
old mill operated for many
years by "Gil" Swezey of an-
other old Long Island family.
Edward H. Terry, brother of
Gilbert Terry, the last miller
at Peconic, had until about
1892 run the Mattituck mill
in which he acquired an inter-
est in 1858. After 1892 he not
only ground grain at Patch-
ogue by day but also ran a
dynamo at night. He intro-
duced that system of lighting
the streets of the village.
Friend Robinson, the curator
at Riverhead, he who visited
the Peconic mill as a boy when
conducted by his uncle Gilbert
Terry, also helped his great
uncle Edward H. Terry at the
Patchogue mill.
Joshua U. Terry, also men-
tioned above as having run
the Mattituck mill for over
two decades, was a son of
Joshua Terry who was a son
of Brewster Terry of Coram,
an uncle of Gilbert Terry of
the Peconic mill. These Terry
millers all sprang from Walter
Franklin Terry, an earlier mil-
ler born Oct. 12, 1804 who
died March 24, 1871. Brews-
ter Terry had a daughter who
married Nathaniel 0. Swezey,
a prominent bayman at Patch-
ogue who was born there Feb.
26, 1845 and died at the same
place Jan. 18, 1879.
Nathaniel 0. Swezey had a
nephew who in the mid-80's
was a boyhood pal of this
^£NJTH
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HEARING AID
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writer at Southold. Arthur
Dwight Swezey was then a
chore boy on the farm of S.
Wells Phillips at Pine Neck
while yours truly filled that
humble position on the North
Road farm of ex-Captain Eli
Woodhull Howell. Dwight's
father William Swezey and
my father John Oakley Wood
had been drowned at sea.
Likely the O in the name of
Dwight's grandfather stood
for Oakley.
More than a half century
later both Dwight and I re-
turned ard lived for a while
as near neighbors in the heart
of Southold. He died a few
years ago at that village and
this other erstwhile chore
boy, now an octogenarian, as
stated by the editor in the
July Forum, "writes on."
The Old Tide Mill
The old tide mill is ruined now
Down by the surging Sound,
Where day by day for many years
The fanner's grain was ground.
The great wind wheel that o'er the
mill
Stretched out each mighty arm
And spread its wings to every
breeze,
And to the scene lent charm
Is ruined by the very wind
That swept it round and round,
And gave it power to turn the
stones
By which the grists were ground.
In one great storm of fearful force
This old windmill was blown
From off its place, and all its
wings
Upon the sands were strewn.
The old tide-mill is ruined now,
The miller's moved away,
The farmer's greater grist is
ground
By other power today.
LONG ISLAND'S
Greatest and Biggest Civic Event
MINEOLA FAIR
and
Industrial Exhibition
at the
ROOSEVELT RACEWAY
WESTBURY, L. L, N. Y.
Oct. 9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16 & 17, 1954
with
The George A. Hamid BIG CIRCUS
Grand Stand Seats Included in Admission
Adults 50c — Children UNDER 12 Years 25c
The Miracles of Industry Blended with all the Picturesque
Features of New York's Oldest County Fair
DRY GLEANING
FUR STORAGE
cMlfviikJkMu^
RUG CLEANING
AMiTYVILLE 4-3200
1^^
174
SEPTEMBER 1954
LONG ISLAND FORUM
•
Nassau Landmark
Continued from page 166
ment the land was appor-
tioned so that each of the
proprietors received a so-
called "Home Lott" on or near
the highway known as The
Place, and equal areas of
woodland, pastureland, etc.,
throughout the remainder of
the tract.
According to the Patent
this entire area, as purchased
from the Indians, was said to
comprise some seventeen
hundred acres. It is interest-
ing to note, however, that a
list of the land-owners, made
in 1786, giving the amount of
property that each held, to-
taled three thousand six hun-
dred and seventy-eight acres.
Apparently the poor Indians
were not completely versed in
the technique of land survey-
ing and never knew what they
had bargained for.
The Indians that welcomed
Joseph Carpenter and his fol-
lowers to Mosquito Cove on
that spring day of 1668 have
long since departed for the
Happy Hunting Ground. If
they and the white pioneers
of that far-off era could re-
turn today it is doubtful if
they would find anything
familiar in the land that they
knew and loved nearly three
centuries ago.
Enormous factories have
sprung up on the la^^d once
occupied by the Matinecock
v/igwams and the blue ribbons
of smoke that rose from their
campfires have been replaced
by the be'ching smoke of
industry. Time and change
have erased almost every-
thing that belonged to their
world. Yet, here and there
Old Buildings at Glen Cove. Pholo by Carl Kohler
#
ESTABLISHED 1887
SOUTH SIDE
BANK
BRENTWOOD BAY SHORE
Suffolk <&• 4th Main &> Bay Shore Av.
Phone BR 3-45 1 1 Phone BA 7-7 1 00
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
we still find a few cherished
landmarks to remind us of
those days of long ago.
Historian's Comment
I would miss the Forum! It is
so interesting and helpful to me in
my D. A. R. historical work. Mrs.
W. Carl Crittenden, Freeport.
Note: Mrs. Crittenden is State
Historian of the D. A. R.
Ship's Identity
Ross & Pelletreau's L.I. History
stranded four-masted bark which
resembles the Galbraith, stranded
at Water Mill in July 1916. It is
probably not the same ship. Could
some reader identify it?
H. B. S„ care L.I. Forum
Rare Long Island Boaks
Personal Reminiscences of Men
and Things on Long Island, by
Daniel M. Tredwell, in two vol-
umes.
'■A Sketch of the First Settle-
ment of the Several Towns on
Long Island" by Silas Wood.
Printed by Alden Spooner, Brook-
lyn, in 182'8.
For particulars write Long
Island Forum, Amityville.
I enjoy the Forum very much.
G. Burchard Smith, Freeport.
(Note: Mr. Smith, County At-
torney of Nassau County, is a
descendant of Smithtown's founder,
Richard Smith.)
Paumanok School
As a result of the very informa-
tive material which you gave me
some time ago including the refer-
ence to Walt Whitman's "Leaves
of Grass", our school board de-
cided to call the new school which
is beins: erected on Udall Roa*!
(West Islip) "Paumanok School."
We all feel very much indebted
to you for an excellent solution of
a rather difficult problem and the
Board asked me to express its
appreciation and to thank you for
your kind help.
Livingston S. Jennings
Vice-President
Village House
Arts, Crafts, Americana
Museum of the
Oysterponds Historical
Society at Orient, L. I.
Open July 1 to October 31
Tuesdays. Thursdays,
Saturdays and Sundays
2 to 5 P. M.
Free Admission
175
LONG ISLAND FORUM
SEPTEMBER 1954
for good taste and suitability of
design by Fashon Digest Maga-
zine.
The dress modeled here by a
classmate, Doris Arden, depends on
line and color for its glamour.
Black nylon met over cafe au lait
taffeta, and a garland of golden-
brown-cast roses carry out the new
season's concept of the bouffant
gown with diminished petticoats.
A black net stole provides optional
cover-up of the decolletage, aind
pale beige suede gloves comple-
ment the colors of the gown. This
young man deviated from the usual
procedure of making a sketch
first, as taught in the school's Art
Department — instead he draped
his design in muslin. ,
Mr. Podosek, who is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Podosek of
27 First Street, Syosset, Long
Island, will return to Traphagen
for the fall term to continue his
studies in draping, design, clothing
construction and patternmaking.
Other courses also opening at
the Traphagen School the first
week of October include Costume
Design and Illustration, Styling,
Life Drawing and Fashion Sketch-
ing, Interior Decoration and Win-
dow Display. Eveming as well as
regular full day classes are
scheduled.
Prize Gown Designed By
Long Islander
A gown for the gramd occasions
that come in with the fall season,
this dress is a prize winner, de-
signed and made by Edward Pod-
osek, student at the Traphagen
School of Fashion. He presented
I saw my first Forum in a neigh-
bor's house. Enclosed find check
for two years, beginning, if you
will, with January 1953. (Mrs.) P.
0. Averill, Levittown.
My daughter and 1 enjoy the
Forum and look forward to each
issue. Mrs. F. S. Leslie, Cutchogue.
We enjoy the Forum very much.
Edward F. Cook, East Hampton.
his design in a recent style show
given in the assembly hall at the
school, 1680 Broadway (52nd
Street), New York, and was the
recipient of first prize awarded
Nassau Archeological Society
Archeologists of Nassaia County
have organized and imcorporated
and have already launched a pro-
gram of excavating with excellent
results. The mailing address,
where particulars may be ob-
tained, is Box 1026 Sea Cliff.
Anniversary Gifts
IN CHINA
Minion Bone, Spode, Doulton
Syracuse, Lenox
IN STERLING
TowIe 3orham
IN GLASS
Foitoria Tiffin Duncan
And in Other Quality Lines
TOOMEY'S GIFTS
85 Main St. BAY SHORE
253 W. Main St. Smithtown Branch
COLUMBIA SAVINGS
AND LOAN ASSOCIATION
93-22 JAMAICA AVENUE
WOODHAVEN 21, N. Y.
VIRGINIA 7-7041
FOREST HILLS OFFICE
15 Station Square - at Forest Hills Inn
CHARTERED 188
SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
MORTGAGE LOANS SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES
Safety of your Savings Insured up to $10,000
176
SEPTEMBER 1954
LONG ISLAND FORUM
#
Shinnecock Canal
Continued from page 167
pronouncing the name Ells-
worth. And I might add that
Ellsworth Rowland was still
wearing the title with com-
mendable dignity at the age
of 89 when he passed the
above information on to me.
Cooper at Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor has never laid claim
to James Fenimore Cooper as a
native son. The author of The
Leather Stocking Tales belongs to
Cooperstown, N. Y., and is buried
there. He did, however, reside in
Sag Harbor shortly after t,he War
of 1812 and invested in at least
one whaling voyage, that of the
ship Union in 1810.
It has been said too that Cooper
obtained material for his first book
"Precaution" at Sag Harbor, and
began his writing career there. In
his novel "Sea Lions" Cooper
evidently used his knowledge of
Sag Harbor in describing a "small
seaport town, where the -whole in-
dustry of the place was connected
with ships and shipping."
I recall that when the ice in
Great South Bay broke up during
a heavy storm on December 31,
1902, ice piled up along sihore more
than two dozen feet in height and
much damage was done to boats
and buildings.
J. R. James, Jamaica
Clje
l5mk of amitptJille
Incorporated 1891
29^ on Special Interest
Accounts Compounded
Quarterly
Hours: 9 to 3 except Saturday
Friday Evening, 6:30 to 8:30
Member Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp.
RECORDS
RCA -Columbia- Decca
wide Selection of
POPULAR
CLASSICAL
CHILDREN'S
in all the speeds
AMITY RADIO
For Quality Service on TV
On the Triangle AMityville4-1177
The Forum is such a splendid
magazine I wish there was one
like it in this section of the State.
I have given all my copies to our
local library. Mrs. Chester G.
Allen, Wellsville, N. Y.
Naphtha Launch on Shinnecock Canal, 1900
Fashion Articles
Those illustrated fashion articles
about Traphagen pupils have been
very favorably discussed at our
club on several occasions. (Miss)
Olga Danes, Levittown.
J. G. DODGE & SON, Inc.
Glen Cove's Oldest Furniture House
Established in 1835 when Andrew Jackson was President.
99 GLEN STREET
GLen Cove 4-0242
LONG ISLAND
is located advantageously for light industry.
Its suburban and rural areas offer ideal living
conditions.
Independent Textile Dyeing Co., Inc.
FARMJNGDALE, N. Y.
Clie I80t House
FINE FURNITURE
Interior Decorating BAbyion 6-1601
173 West Merrick Road, Babylon
In August 1882 Oscar Wilde, famous English author of his
day, dined in Babylon at the old Argyle Hotel as the gues^ of
Robert B. Roosevelt, uncle of T. R.
177
LONG ISLAND FORUM
Another Attic Treasure
LoDig Island has not yet discov-
ered the hiding place of Captain
Kidd's treasure, but last year the
attic of an old Mattituek house
yielded up a box handsome einough
to hold pieces of eight — indeed
one of the papers found in it men-
tions "halfe pieces of eight." This
document box, leather covered,
domed lid, with hand wrought
hinges, lock and studding nails,
was old in l!793 when it was com-
pletely relined with a newspaper
of that date.
It guarded a treasure of hun-
dreds of even older papers of the
Howell (Southold) family, dating
from 1678 to 1875, covering the
first five generations, of one
branch of the Southold Howell
family — Richard (1) circa 1650/
1709, John (2) circa 1670/1734,
Joniathan (3) 1720/1804, John. (4)
1756/1837 and Sylvester (5) 1799/
1875, and also Jonathan (4), died
1791, the son of Jonatham (3), and
Jonathan (5) 1770/1832, the son
of Jonathan (4). It is seldom in-
deed that family records are kept
in one piece for five generations.
The box, now repaired, its cor-
dovan covering polished to a lustre
attainable only in old leather, now
reposes in the Suffolk Counity His-
torical Society, Riverhead, to
which it and its contents were
presented by Chauncey Howell
Downs, eighth generation descend-
ent of Richard (1), to be known as
the "Chauncey Perkins Howell
Collection" in honor of his grand-
father, the sixth of the Howell
line. These records were found in
the attic of the second homestead
built on the farm deeded to Richard
(1) by his father-Jn-law in 1676.
The house is on the North Road
Continued on back cover
Over 100 Years
of
DEPENDABLE
SERVICE
TO
LONG ISLANDERS
Everything for Building
TlaA^au Suffolk
LUMBCR A SUPPLY IfV COQP
AMITYVILLE ROSLYN
HUNTINGTON SMITHTOWN
WESTBURY WANTAGH
LOCUST VALLEY
SEPTEMBER 1954
MATTITUCK TODAY
FORUMS, PRIOR TO 1950
One dozen scattered numbers. At
least 50 stories on island history.
Sent postpaid for ;gl.50. Address
L. I. FORUM, AMITYVILLE
From Wat«rcolorby Cyril A. Lawi<
AMITY AUTO SALES
Chevrolet Agency
For Sales and Service
Parts and Accessories
Merrick and County Line Roads
Tel. AMityville 4-0909-4-0910
Telephone AMityville 4-2126
FIRESTONE
Motor Sales, Inc.
De Soto Plymouth Austin
Sales and Service
Martin Firestone Merrick Road
Just West of Amityville
POWELL
Funeral Home, Inc.
67 Broadway
Amityville, New York
AMityville 4-0172
Monumental Work
"The Fame Behind the Name"
HARDER
Extermination Service, Inc.
Termite Control, Mothproof-
ing and all other services
Phone Nearest Office
PAtchogue 3-2100 HUnting-ton 4-2304
Riverhead 8-2943 HEmpstead 2-3866
BAbylon 6-2020 Southampton 1-0346
BEUport 7-0W4 STony Brook 70917
F. Kenneth Harder Robert Troup
President Vice-President
Auto Radiators Repaired, Recored and Boiled Out
Electric Motors— Rewinding and Rebuilding
AMITYVILLE BATTERY & IGNITION SERVICE, Inc.
Broadway and Avon Place Phones 1174 - 2095 Amityville
178
Q^
You Can : You Can
an automatic
i-i
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for as little as
a month
^^^*^ with option to buy any time
^Mtf within .^5 months
o
o
o
for as little as
$298*
a month
with $25 trade-in allowonca
on your old equipment
;;^,^ *
^.juKA^-Aml -
*30 Gallon Size
#
JOIN THE SWlNe TO CAREFREE, ECONOMICAL
AUTOMATIC GAS WATER HEATING
Get details at our nearest office without cost or obligation.
LONG ISLAND LIGHTING COMPANY
Hgffi
oa JB •'
ct J-3
For Luncheons and Dinners
The Patchogue Hotel
Centrally located on the
South Shore for Banquets
and other functions
Modern Rooms and Suites
Montauk Highway
Phones Patchogue 1234 and 800
Wining and Dining
in the Continental Tradition,
superb, leisurely, inexpensive,
will be yours to enjoy, at the
entirely new
RENDEZVOUS
Restaurant
292 M.rrick Rd. Amilyvill*
Phone AMityville 4-9768
For the Sea Food
Connoisseur It's
SNAPPER
INN ■
on Connetquot River
OAKDALE
Phone SAyville 4-0248
CLOSED MONDAYS
STERN'S
Pickle Products, Inc.
Farmingdale, N. Y.
TeU. 248; Night 891
CoBipleta Line of Condiments for the
Hotel and Restaurant Trade
Prompt Deliveries Quality Since 1890
Factory conveniently located at
Farminedale
Another Attic Treasure
Continued from page 178
just west of the Southold-River-
head dividing line, and it ties back
to the original house because por-
tions of the letter were incorpor-
ated into it when it was built. The
house was occupied by Miss Eliza-
beth Howell (7), the last direct
descendent of this branch until her
death in 1951 after which the house
and its 64 acres (a small part of
the original which extended from
Bay to Sound) were sold out of
the family, who had possessed it
for 276 years.
The writer, who is a direct
descendent of Richard (1) through
another son, had the interesting
task of mending, sorting, trans-
cribing and mounting these family
papers an^d found them not only
valuable to family genealogical
research, but of great importaTice
as a reference work, particularly
because they cover such a variety
of subjects that they present a
mirror of the history, economics,
and customs of the periods in
which they were written, as full
list will illustrate the wide range
of interests covered: Family shop-
ping lists, wills, deeds, receipts for
expenses from false teeth and
stays to tombstones, tax lists, in-
dentures of boys to learn trades,
slaves, settlement of estates, to
personal letters which range from
a dignified appeal of Richard (1)
of Southold to Col. Howell of
Southampton to send home Rich-
ard's (1) son Richard who was en-
joying himself on the south side,
to a school girl's letter about
beans and parties. ,
Also among the papers are many
undated fragments obviously of
the 1600's or early 1700's which
merit further study, and a good
knowledge of handwriting for ac-
curate classification.
Truly, this is an impressive dis-
covery, which can be made even
more valuable by such further
study and gifts of related family
records.
Wilbur F. Howell
New York
New Jersey Forumites
We enjoy the Forum as does
Ray Patterson, a Madison friend
of ours who was bom down at
East Marion. I met another
reader the other day — you evi-
dently have a good Jersey follow-
ing.
Charles J. McDermott
Morristown., N. J.
"Willie and Herman's"
La Grange
Montauk Highway East of Babylon
Luncheons - Dinners
Large New Banquet Hall
Tel. Babylon 480
Enroute to the Hamptons
on Montauk Highway
112!! C ASA BASSO 2£d
Enjoy the Best
Luncheon and Dinner
Westhampton 4-1841
Closed on Mondays
The Shoreham
"On The Great South Bay"
Since 1903
Specializing in SEA FOOD
Special Luncheons Daily
Foot of Foster Ave. Sayville
Tel. SAyville 4-(ie6«
CLOSED MONDAYS
_l
PETERS
Delicatessen
Tel. Amityville 4-1350
176 Park Ave. Amityville
YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU TRIED
LUNCHEON - DINNER (or SNACK)
in the restful comfort oif
^/le hospitality Shoppe
where excellent food, skillfully prepared and promptly served,
is primed to meet the better taste.
123 Louden Avenue Tel. AMityville 4-4000 Amityville, L I
"ASK YOUR FRIENDS WHO'VE TRIED IT"
.